Posts Tagged ‘hearst.’

California is a big state and when I visited in the past I spent most of my time in LA or South or the San Francisco area. A couple weeks ago though I traveled with some friends from Santa Monica to the Central Coast, specifically Avila Beach (closest big city would be San Luis Obispo which isn’t really BIG compared to California standards). This was my first time to the Central Coast and I had no idea what to expect–except for it being somewhat coastal.

About 3 hours North of LA on “the 5 (I-5 for us non-Californians)” and about 4 hrs South of San Fran on the 5, the Central Coast is a mixture of famous sights, small beach towns and wineries that rival the more known Napa Valley. I only had 3 days in this area and I wanted to make the most of it—and of course, I needed more time.

Hearst Castle

Maybe the most famous of the sights on the Central Coast and all of California is the Hearst Castle named for the newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst who died in 1951. Now a state park the Castle is steeped in history. In its heyday it was supposed to be a “bungalow” for Hearst, but soon got a bit bigger and was visited by the most famous of the time (Lindbergh, Cary Grant, various Presidents). The main house is over 60,000 sqft and has 56 bedrooms and 61 bathrooms. Full of antiques and rare books purchased personally by Hearst, this spot has a constant stream of tourists throughout the year.

If you are like me, famous landmarks are worth a visit, but when the beach is calling—I make it a short visit because, well, the beach is calling.

If you’ve heard of Monterey or Big Sur you have heard of the Central Coast, but if you have heard of Avila Beach then you have heard of the REAL Central Coast. A sleepy beach town popular with fisherman put Avila on the map, but the subsequent building boom and desire to live semi-affordably (to California standards anyway) is what made Avila what it is today: a coffee drinking, dog walking, beach strolling, bike riding, fishing town. To say this town is yuppie would be an understatement–but it is Cali and in comparison to some California towns, Avila is a watered down yuppie and a town I could totally see myself living in. With a main street of tee-shirt and flip flop shops, a general market, Mr. Rick’s Sports bar, the very crowded Joe Mamma Coffee (try the hemp milk creamer) and even a couple small wineries, it takes 6 minutes to walk the “strip” before you are hugging the coastline on your run, walk or bike ride on the way to the famous fishing pier to watch your dinner get caught, buy that fresh caught dinner and walk right up to (if you dare) napping Sea Lions on the dock.

Avila Beach

Avila at sunset

up-close and personal with a hungry pelican on the fishing pier

Tide Pools
About a 30 minute drive from Avila are the Montana de Oro State Park and Tide Pools. Here the coastline is comprised of slippery rock (yeah, I fell on my a*s), snails, crabs, sea anemones, shells and steep sand dunes that can be slid down via sled, cardboard box or the seat of your pants (I saw all three). Like the rest of California (even in the summer), the water is powerful and very cold so if the tide is not out it could be a dangerous, cold meander through these tide pools. I went when the tide was nearly out and bonded quite nicely with a turquoise sea anemone. Did you know if you gently touch one it wraps around your finger and tries to suction you to death? It is a cool feeling. Yeah, and messing with that anemone is probably why I fell.

Trail down to the tide pools

me at the tide pools

overlooking the coastline tide pools and sand dunes

Dive Bars–for Wine
As mentioned, wine from the Central Coast rivals Napa Valley and Sonoma and wineries and vineyards are dotted along the coast at every exit. Many have gorgeous views and picturesque grounds like at this place:

But sadly, sometimes the wine suffers and the view turns out to be the best thing about the winery. If you are a true wine-person, this can be frustrating (if you are like me and can barely tell a Pinot from a Merlot it is not as upsetting) especially when you are in the Central Coast and have gorgeous views anyway. Recently an industrial area of blue and government gray buildings in the town of Lompoc (pronounced “Lom-Poke”) behind the Home Depot has become a popular destination for wine tastings and because the area is, ahem, not so picturesque (and it probably doesn’t help that the Home Depot lumber department is in ear shot) the area was affectionately coined as the “Wine Ghetto.”

Most likely overlooked, unless you knew better, this parking lot of single-story metal buildings has become the place to go if you want good wine. Unlike most wineries where you have your tasting, roam the grounds and then responsibly drive to the next vineyard–the Ghetto is a one-stop wine tasting shop with the wineries situated like stores in a cheap strip mall– but, the wine is NOT cheap tasting! Park once–taste all day– but get a car service, please.

One of my favorite “Ghetto” wineries was the Flying Goat. The husband and wife owners were passionate about their wine, had soil samples that the grapes grew from and a very nice 13 year old chocolate lab. Plus– the lady knew all about Jersey. Represent East Coast!

(picture courtesy of centralcoastuncorked.blogspot.com)